Cut flowers...

susanan_gwOctober 22, 2006

Now that the season is over(at least in New England)I was wondering if some of you could suggest varieties that produce the best crop of cut flowers.I had several plants covered with flowers, but the stems were too short for arrangements. Any ideas for next year are greatly appreciated. Susanan

I am asuming you want smallish ones for bouquets- not AA's so I'll go with some of my favorites that bloom non-stop all season & all with long enough stems to have nice cut flowers. However, you have to be aware that you have to disbud any dahlias a certain amount to get a nice cut-flower stem. You just pop off the 2 side buds of each central stem & you'll get a good sized stem on just about any dahlia.
White- Arctic Frost; Pink- Chimmacum Katie or Valley Porcupine- this one is so cute & lasts a full week+ as a cut flower; dark - almost black- Shadow Cat or Rip City; hot pink- Camano Electra or Pretty in Pink. (And of course- there's the old standby- Chilson's Pride that will put out a ton of blooms- it's pink with a white center - we don't grow it any more but it is a good cut flower.) I cut at least 40 blooms a day off of these plants & the color combo is GREAT- we have a couple of plants of each one at our son's place-- way away from the AA seed parents!

Suzanan: I use the Karma series for cutting. They are specially bred for cutting, long sturdy stems. I planted 50 mixed ones last year and I am still n the process of dividing them. The plants continuously produces all summer and fall. These were a HOT seller at our Farmers Market. Good luck. HEIDI